BOSTON—Carlos Arredondo has seen tragedy before. His elder son was killed in combat in Iraq, and his other son hanged himself nearly a decade later. Now, he is haunted again, with flashbacks from witnessing the Boston Marathon bombing, but this time he has support from the man whose life he helped save.

Jeff Bauman Jr., 27 years old, was cheering near the finish line when the bombs went off. Suddenly, he was on the ground, maimed and thinking he was going to die. Then a stranger—Mr. Arredondo—rushed to him. "The bystander in the cowboy hat," said a
Facebook
page run by Mr. Bauman's family, was his "guardian angel."

Mr. Arredondo has been urging people in Boston to seek psychological counseling to cope with the bombing before their emotions get out of control, as has sometimes happened with him. He has also forged a bond with Mr. Bauman, who lost both his legs below the knees in the explosion. He has visited Mr. Bauman several times as he begins his arduous recovery at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, and as Mr. Arredondo himself tries to heal.

Mr. Arredondo, in the cowboy hat, aided Mr. Bauman two weeks ago when he was severely injured at the marathon bombing.
Associated Press

Mr. Arredondo was at the marathon finish line to support Tough Ruck, a charity group that was marching the course in full gear to benefit military families. When the bombs went off, "I just did like this, crossed myself and said, 'God protect me,' " Mr. Arredondo said in an interview. "I had my son in my mind."

Lance Cpl. Alex Arredondo, 20, was killed by a sniper in Iraq in 2004. When Mr. Arredondo was notified, he tried to kill himself. He spent the next decade as an antiwar activist and struggled with mental-health issues.

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In 2010, he and his wife were both hospitalized for "rampant depression." The next year, his other son, Brian, hanged himself, the end result of a battle with depression.

"It's constantly in my head, seeing the people," Mr. Arredondo said last week. "I'm at the spot of the event, seeing the young man I helped, and the young lady who died.…It's hard to sleep."

Mr. Bauman himself has shown a remarkable attitude during his recovery. When visited by New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, "Jeff was more concerned with Rob's injuries and how the Patriots were going to step up their game," Mr. Bauman's cousin posted on Facebook last week. "Jeff is in such amazing spirits he is an inspiration to everyone."

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Mr. Arredondo, 52, has inspired people, too, as he continually copes with mental-health issues. Almost immediately after the event, he sought out psychological counseling and has used his public platform to try and help others. "Maybe it's not right now that it's going to affect you," he said. "It could be months from now when you can have difficult days."

He and his wife, Melida, have both gone to visit Mr. Bauman. When Carlos first went to the hospital room, he "had a big smile, like it was one of his kids," Ms. Arredondo said. "It's nice to have a friend, someone that age. I don't think this bond is going to end after the cameras go away."

Ms. Arredondo said it was too early to know if the young man's friendship would help Mr. Arredondo work through some still-lingering mental issues, trauma that has been there for years. But helping people has always served as a form of therapy for Mr. Arredondo, from his activism to his work with veterans groups as a tribute to his son.

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"Carlos has said he wants to help Jeff with the recuperation," she said. "When Jeff starts walking, we want to be there."

Mr. Bauman said on a Boston sports-radio show last week that he and Mr. Arredondo text every day, that Mr. Arredondo gave him a fedora and a pin with pictures of his sons, and that they have talked about going to a Red Sox game together.

"I hope we can help other people," Mr. Arredondo said. "I hope that Jeff turns his tragedy into a positive."

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